Honoring America’s Roadway Safety Leaders

(Washington, DC) — During a national awards ceremony on Capitol Hill, the Roadway Safety Foundation (RSF) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) today honored the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) for its efforts to increase the safety and efficiency of collecting highway lighting level data to reduce serious injuries and fatal crashes on roadways.

The Advanced Lighting Measurement System (ALMS) was developed by FDOT to help safely and efficiently identify where inadequate lighting levels may be contributing to crash problems. Having the ALMS allows efficient real-time assessment of the adequacy of highway lighting. Data collection rates using ALMS are 300 times greater than traditional methods. This efficiency has allowed Florida to collect over 250 miles of data in a few months – rather than a few years – resulting in a savings in excess of $1.2 million.

“More than 32,000 people died in traffic crashes in 2013 and millions of individuals suffered injuries,” said Federal Highway Administrator Gregory Nadeau. “Innovative roadway safety programs are a critical part of saving lives and preventing injuries on our nation’s highways.”

“The innovative highway safety projects honored today are vital because deficiencies in the roadway environment contribute to nearly one-third of all traffic deaths,” said Greg Cohen, Executive Director of the Roadway Safety Foundation. “The National Roadway Safety Awards are an opportunity to recognize the unsung heroes who plan, engineer and implement creative measures to help save lives on a daily basis and rarely receive credit for doing so.”

“The Florida DOT is very fortunate to have the Advanced Lighting Measurement System as a tool to use on our roadways as a part of our efforts to reduce serious injury and fatal crashes,” said Brian McKishnie, Director of Transportation Operations for Florida Department of Transportation, District Seven “Through the use of this system we are reducing nighttime crashes and making our roadways safer for all users.”

The National Roadway Safety Award recipients were evaluated on three criteria: 1) Effectiveness, 2) Innovation, and 3) Efficient use of resources. There were two award categories: 1) Infrastructure and Operational Improvements and 2) Program Planning, Development, and Evaluation.

Peter Hsu from District Seven Traffic Ops was on hand to receive the award on behalf of FDOT.

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